Mountain Ghost Studio

This is where it all began. France, 2024. I was lucky enough to tag along for capturing photos and videos of the USA Youth Team, hanging out it the cold, freezing my toes off. @kendrastritch used her boss bitch skills to get me onto the tower for adult finals and I was intoxicated by the focus and determination of the athletes, particularly the women. I had never competed seriously in anything and watching them dance powerfully from hold to hold awoke something within me. I wanted it. I wanted to do it too. I asked my USA friends, “is there a Canadian team?” No. “Can I try out for the US team?” Also no. I went on with the regular ice-climb-all-winter program and didn’t even try drytooling. Summer 2024. “Kara! There is going to be a Canadian team next year! You should apply!!” Came a message from @drytoolnight . Shit… I hadn’t been drytooling at all, only ice climbing and surfing. No chance, I am not ready. A message from @lindlaukevin , “Kara! There is going to be a Canadian team next year! You should apply!!” “No Kevin, I don’t know how to drytool.” “Apply! We’ll get you there.” So I did. I trained hard, but last season was still rough, learning so many completely new movements and sensations, popping early often, battling head game, z-clipping, making all the mistakes. Winter 2026. This season, though also a learning experience, has been a bit more familiar, quite a lot more fun, and filled with awe and gratitude. Last weekend in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, I competed alongside these three women I first photographed in France, @verticalmarianne , @sunnyo.0 , and @marion_salmon_thomas , each earning a spot on the podium. Their climbing styles, grace and ferocity on the wall continue to encourage me to focus in and train hard. I pinch myself regularly that I am not behind the camera, but on the wall next to them (sometimes in qualies hehe) and I am so grateful to have inspiring female examples such as these ones. Meet your heroes. At least in this sport. They’re all pretty amazing. #climbingphotography #femaleclimbers #mixedclimbing #climbing #competition

All this travel has me reminiscing of my old home in BC passing through Vancouver for the airport, spending a sunny autumn afternoon drinking coffee on Kits Beach, enjoying the joy laughter of families playing in the sand, then evening sunsets watching the the boats in Burrard Inlet. That in-between when one contract ends and I wait for another to start, exhausted nights my car and restful mornings with my feet in the sand. In the past, Vancouver has been this exhausting metropolis to me when I come back from somewhere usually remote and quiet. When I took this photo though, Vancouver was familiarity, joy, love, rest and the onset of an upcoming adventure. And really, those pacific sunsets go almost unmatched. #travel #sunset #photo #nature #vancouver

That same Italy getting snowier and snowier as @katie_stylos put down multiple difficult routes and started working Parallel World (eventually becoming the first woman in the world to send the grade). I took this photo back when I was visiting Europe and climbing as solely a photographer. I had trained with Katie and Joe for about a month in Bozeman to see what it was like, sleeping on @lindlaukevin and Felicia’s couch even before they really knew me and spending nights in my car up Hyalite Canyon. I remember watching Katie train with relentless dedication, thinking that what she was doing seemed impossible. Now that I have climbed on tools a time or two more, I see what happens when you focus on a goal and improve the gaps in your skills - you just get better. But having a better understanding for the sport, I know that what Katie achieved by returning year after year to send this route is EVEN MORE impressive than I could have thought. In my little scope, it is still darn near impossible, but she made the impossible possible with hard work and a whole lot of sacrifice. • > < > • • < > < • • > < > • #photography #adventure #travel #climbing #mixedclimbing @mammutna @rhinoskinsolutions @aniiu_gloves

Arriving in Italy today, I am nostalgic for the trip I took this photo on. One week prior to leaving Canada, all my belongings had be stolen from my car and I was able to make trip work with gear pieced together from friends (thank goodness for @deganllc , @lindlaukevin , @katie_stylos , @njwags ) and the help of my parents. Basically broke and very stressed, I got on the early morning plane ride and literally cried for the first hour - I’d never crossed the ocean on a plane by myself or as an adult before and I was carrying the weight of the previous stressful week. The very kind man in the seat next to took me under his wing and before I knew it, I was with friends in a gorgeous airbnb in northern Italy shedding happy tears for views like these. Back in Italy again and again over the years, I am overcome with the gratitude for all the memories, laughs, views and packed in car rides this country has given me. To more like this, please! • > < > • • < > < • • > < > • #photography #photo #naturephotography #beauty #travel

A most amazing thing about taking photos of climbing is that you get to be RIGHT THERE with someone in these milestone, emotional and memorable moments. You’re there for the focus, the fear, the struggle, the triumph and, if you’re lucky (and sometimes patient) you get to be the for the joy and relief of clipping the anchors. I had the privilege of being part of moments like these, hanging on a line while @christophermanchester led his very first trad climb with encouragement from @brazilianclimbergirl and @mgclimber1 at @rockboundadventures crack climbing clinic this last spring. This is what it looks like to work with your fear and do something hard and this is what it looks like to fight through to the sweet end. #climbing #climb #tradclimbing #indiancreek #crackclimbing

Fear of the unknown - for this little (okay it’s pretty big) snail, that thumb is a terrifying and unfamiliar alien object here to do who tf knows what. If snail got to know thumb a bit, he’d find that it was simply an appendage attached to a very kind being, @mgclimber1 , here to do only good in observing and documenting the beauty of snail. That’s the thing with the unknown, like flicking on the lights in a dark room so we can see all that the dark may be hiding, when we get to know it we find it may not be so fearful after all. As an aside, this spurred a very enjoyable photography side-quest of finding interesting insects and bugs that all of us, @lindlaukevin and @mgclimber1 and myself, got pretty excited about. I am so grateful to’ve had their finds to compare and contrast with. • > < > • • < > < • • > < > • #photography #photo #naturephotography #nature #snailsofinstagram

As if this cave could be any more beautiful, in winter it somehow brightens its colours and shows us some blue! Another week in Bosnia and Herzegovina featuring @lindlaukevin on @edin.zuhric ’s (of @nocomment.climbing ) masterpiece of a climb. #mixedclimbing #drytooling #iceclimbing @sterlingrope @blackdiamond @lasportivana @wavetoolstherapy @physivantage @thewildkaerski

GIRL POWER !!! U procesu opremanja novih dry-tooling smjerova doprinos su dale i dvije dame, naše Kara i Mirjam. 🔩 Sa puno teške opreme i velikim osmjehom opermile su smjer koji je namjenjen za početnike. 📸 Posebna zahvalnost ide Kari i Mountain Ghost Studiju za fantastične fotografije koje su zabilježile proces i atmosferu — bez njih ova priča ne bi bila potpuna. 🙏 Zahvaljujemo i Markusu i Kevinu, koji su nam prenijeli nove tehnike boltanja plafonskih smjerova. Njihovo znanje i iskustvo podigli su cijeli projekt na viši nivo.

The little things, you know? When you return to the same place day after day - and with a goal - I find it can either be easier or more difficult to notice the little things. For example, when we are in work mode we can almost be sleepwalking. Arrive at cave, approach to rock wall, organize gear, step into harness, jug up rope, work/create. It can be tough when we’re getting tired and burning out to spend the energy to notice all the minute changes in the immaculate space around us. On the other hand, returning to the same natural space day after day allows us the privilege of noticing all the little changes. The way the baby birds chirp from the nest when their parent brings them food and then day when we stopped hearing them. The way that butterflies choose sun over shade and how the orange ones are particularly easily spooked. Which flowers are blooming and which are gone. The days when there are many crayfish in the river and the ones where the river is higher or lower and which rocks are poking through. Whether paying attention or not, it was impossible not to notice all the different sunsets and cloud arrangements we were lucky enough to enjoy with the people we got to spend them (or share the stoke) with 💜 • > < > • • < > < • • > < > • #photography #photooftheday #love #photo #picoftheday #naturephotography #nature #naturelovers #forest #beauty #adventure #travel #exploration #people #mixedclimbing #climbing #drytooling #sunset #mountains

Back home after an amazing few weeks in Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦! . We spent 3 weeks working on establishing what will be one of the most beautiful Drytooling caves I have ever seen! Upon arrival we were all stunned by the pure magnitude and beauty of this place! The cave was wayyyy bigger than we had anticipated from the photos we had seen, but after a day of scouting, and coming up with a plan, @mgclimber1 and I set to work on creating what we hope will be one of the most challenging routes in the Balkans, if not the world! . Unfortunately we still have a little more work to go before it is complete, but wow what an amazing experience it was to get to work on this route! I am beyond excited to get back here soon and finish what we started, but for now we will just have to dream and let the motivation guide us back! . A huge thank you to @edin.zuhric @nocomment.climbing and @mnlth0 for the invitation to come work in this project and allow us to be a part of the amazing climbing community you guys have built in Sarajevo! Without all of your help, guidance, and hospitality none of this would have been possible, thank you guys! And a huge thank you to @mtnghoststudio for capturing all of the special moments and documenting the entire experience with us. I can’t wait to see the finished results to show the world how amazing this place is! There are so many others I would like to thank. Everyone we met was so kind, and we couldn’t have done it without all of your support. From getting us to the cave each day, helping us rig, making coffee and food to keep us alive while working, and being willing to show us around your beautiful country, we cannot thank you enough and express our gratitude for your hospitality! Bosnia truly was awe inspiring, and the people even more amazing! I truly fell in love with this place, and cannot wait to get back there soon with the best friends and travel companions anyone could ask for! See you guys on the next trip @mgclimber1 and @thewildkaerski 😜 . 📸: @mgclimber1 . #drytooling #mixedclimbing #climbing #climb #bosnia #bosniaandherzegovina #routedevelopment #development #adventure #friends #travelgram #travelphotography

Somehow, @mgclimber1 even looks like he’s crushing when he’s taking out removable bolts! It’s probably because it takes as much energy to put up a route as it does to climb one. I had the privilege of watching @mgclimber1 @lindlaukevin and @edin.zuhric (@nocomment.climbing ) put some hard core roof routes up at close range and it’s no walk in the park! Let’s take a moment for the climbers that put your routes up - They spent hours and hours hanging upside down, drilling into rock and covering themselves in dust so that we can try new things or hard things or just enjoy nature in a different way. It’s not a climbing route, really it’s an art-project-puzzle that someone has meticulously worked through and laid out for us and we’re so lucky to get to try it. Thank all the people who put your routes up, they’re doing a huge service to the community!! @camp_usa @rab.equipment.na @ospreypacks @sterlingrope @lowaboots • > < > • • < > < • • > < > • #photography #photooftheday #love #photo #picoftheday #naturephotography #nature #naturelovers #forest #beauty #adventure #travel #exploration #people #mixedclimbing #climbing #drytooling

Dear Bosnia and Herzegovina, Your mountains, rivers, valleys, canyons, CAVES, trees, accessible climbing, bugs, dogs, cats would have been more than enough to make your country beautiful. Your sunsets, misty days, sunrises, early morning light on the windows of the houses on the mountains would have been more than enough to make your country beautiful. Your coffee shops, lively nightlife scene, markets, hip local artists, impressive graffiti, infinite bridges, impeccable architecture would have been more than enough to make your country beautiful. Your spaces where different cultures live intertwined and walk amongst each other despite your challenging past would have been more than enough to make your country beautiful. Yet somehow these standalone beautiful things were far overshadowed by the incredible people we were lucky to meet - so warm, hospitable, kind, open to sharing, teaching and learning. Thank you for all the laughter, coffees, snacks for trying new things and encouraging us to do the same, for sharing your country, your stories, your foods, your mountains and your immaculate caves. Thank you for welcoming us and making us feel so at home. Laughter is a universal language. I can’t speak for @lindlaukevin and @mgclimber1 , but I am so looking forward to coming back!! • > < > • • < > < • • > < > • #photography #photooftheday #love #photo #picoftheday #naturephotography #nature #naturelovers #forest #beauty #adventure #travel #exploration #people #mixedclimbing #climbing #drytooling